On Aug. 7, the Midland County District Attorney's Office appointed Midland City Councilman Dan Corrales as its new Assistant district attorney. According to NewsWest 9, Corrales will be responsible for handling misdemeanor cases for the county.
According to a NewsWest9 report, the entry level position is deemed appropriate for Corrales by District Attorney Laura Nodolf.
“We’re lucky to have someone who has applied to the office with previous experience that they’re able to bring to the table," Nodolf said, according to NewsWest 9. "While that experience doesn’t include a lot of trial experience… that’s ok."
NewsWest 9 reported that no conflict of interest was identified with Corrales' role as city councilman and the City of Midland because the City of Midland and Midland County are two separate entities.
“His position with the city council that he is part of, it is the executive branch and it’s a completely different entity, it’s the city," Nodolf said, according to NewsWest 9. "Assistant district attorney isn’t even considered a public official by definition.”
Nodolf and Corrales were sure to avoid conflict of interests over any entity.
“Dan checked and I double checked," Nodolf added. "Because we didn’t want there to even be potentially any kind of conflicts, we didn’t feel that there was."
Corrales assured that if any case results in a conflict of interest, he will not participate in it, but is otherwise prepared to serve Midland County residents.
The Midland County District Attorney's Office began considering Corrales’ appointment in late July. His addition was made to address a lack of attorneys. “The DA has had a lack of attorneys for quite some time now, and they've been struggling to fill positions,” the NewsWest9 report states.
“It came about during a very random conversation that Dan and I were having," Nodolf said. "It’s been very difficult for me to fill openings. We’ve been five attorneys short.”